The  South  and  the  Southern  Railway 


The  Statement  of  a Record  and 
of  an  Ambition 


An  Address 

Before  the 

Virginia  Bankers  Association 
Old  Point  Comfort,  Va. 
June  23,  1916 


By 

FAIRFAX  HARRISON 

President,  Southern  Railway  Compjuiy 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 

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The  South  and  the  Southern  Railway, 

THE  STATEMENT  OF  A RECORD 
AND  OF  AN  AMBITION 


Overlapping  its  political  reconstruction  since  the  Civil 
War,  there  has  been,  and  still  is,  going  forward  in  the  South 
an  organic  and  economic  reconstruction  no  less  fundamental 
and  scarcely  less  complete.  The  ante-bellum  characteristic 
of  the  South  was  individualism.  This  was  manifested  and 
fostered  by  the  predominance  of  rural  life  over  that  of  the 
city  or  town ; the  patriarchal  tendency  of  slaveholding ; a 
tough  intellectual  independence,  and  extraordinary  develop- 
ment of  individual  intellects  of  high  order  side  by  side  with 
a relatively  slight  intellectual  development  of  the  masses,  all 
combined  to  create  what  was  virtually  a ruling  class  of  a high 
order  of  ability. 

The  war  was  a gxeat  leveler.  Economically,  the  virtual 
destruction  of  the  capital  of  the  South,  including  in  it« 
entirety  one  of  the  two  chief  species  of  private  property, 
tended  towards  the  elimination  of  distinctions  based  upon 
wealth — probably  the  most  potently  enduring  basis  of  any 
aristocracy.  Politically,  the  necessity  of  the  struggle  for 
existence,  the  abridgment  of  political  rights,  disgust  at 
political  methods  no  less  loathsome  because  deemed  - neces- 
sary— these  were  but  a few  of  the  factors  that  took  the  brains 
of  the  South,  in  large  part,  out  of  public  life  and,  after  the 
war,  enlisted  them  in  economic  endeavor.  The  result,  speak- 
ing broadly,  has  been,  on  the  one  hand,  a rather  low  order 
of  ability  in  public  life,  and,  on  the  other,  a remarkable  de- 
velopment, speaking  relatively,  of  industrial  and  commercial 
activity. 


2 


Tlie  South  has  gradually  freed  herself  from  the  weight 
and  incubus  of  useless  and  outworn  customs  and  ideas  as  well 
as  of  the  grievous  and  prostrating  conditions  which  followed 
the  war.  The  newer  generations  in  the  South,  while  cherish- 
ing with  pride  the  worthy  traditions  and  sentiments  of  the 
older,  no  longer  allow  such  traditions  and  sentiments 
to  deter  them  from  endeavor,  but  rather  find  in  the  past 
history  of  the  South  inspiration  to  progress,  effort,  and 
achievement.  The  economic  factors  in  the  national  equa- 
tion have  at  last  been  borne  in  upon  the  attention  of  the 
South  and  it  has  been  finally  realized  that  business  as  well 
as  sentiment  is  a part  of,  and  important  to,  the  country’s 
welfare.  The  fundamentals  upon  which  to  base  great  de- 
velopment have  by  fortune  and  misfortune  been  deeply 
rooted  into  the  economic  and  political  structure  of  the  South. 

No  sound  basis  for  the  future  of  the  South  can  be  predi- 
cated upon  imagination  onlj^;  Imt  to  deal  in  hope  of  the 
future,  founded  upon  experiences  of  the  past,  is  not  only 
legitimate,  but  when  coupled  with  that  ambition  to  accom- 
plish, that  should  know  neither  fear  nor  apprehension, 
usually  gives  a true  insight  into  the  future. 

SOUTHERN  RROGRESS. 

At  some  risk  of  trespass  upon  your  attention,  I venture 
briefly  to  review  the  progress  made  in  the  last  decade,  as 
.shown  by  statistics,  by  the  States  south  of  the  Ohio  and 
Potomac  Rivers  and  east  of  the  Mississippi  traversed  by  the 
Southern  Railway.  They  are  facts  which  are  of  the  utmost 
importance  to  all  of  us  who  are  devoting  our  lives  to  the 
South.  The  intrinsic  eloquence  of  these  figures  must  take 
tl.'e  place  of  mere  words  in  holding  your  attention.  They 
record  a condition  which  is  astonishing  and  which  I con- 
fers astonished  me  when  I saw  how  far  they  have  gone  along 
the  lines  of  a tendency  which  I knew  to  obtain. 


3 


PROPERTY  VALUES. 

The  assessed  value  of  property  in  the  Southern  States  has 
increased  in  ten  years  from  $3,258,044,451  to  $5,905,269,- 
974,  an  increase  of  $2,647,225,523,  or  81.25  per  cent.^  The 
total  wealth  of  these  States  in  1900  was  $7,215,780,122,  in 
1912,  $16,540,668,149,  an  increase  of  $9,324,888,027,  or 
129.23  per  cent. 

POPULATION. 

The  population  of  the  Southern  States  in  1900  was 
15,380,940  and  in  1910  (the  last  census)  17,554,940,  an  in- 
crease of  2,174,000,  or  14.13  per  cent;  and  in  the  past  six 
years,  it  is  thought,  there  has  been  a still  greater  increase. 

AGRICULTURE. 

The  growth  in  agriculture  from  1905  to  1915  has  been 
marvelous.  The  figures^  show  the  increase  in  the  production 


(1) 

Assessed  Value  of  Property  in  Southern  Raihvay  (Southern)  States 


State. 

1906. 

1915. 

Alabama  

$344,224,221 

$645,380,500 

Florida  

96,686,954 

285,860,875 

Georgia  

530,171,551 

950,490,196 

Kentucky  

644,489.090 

887,141,119 

Mississippi  

222,847.525 

441,821,314 

North  Carolina 

433,687,807 

807,672,784 

South  Carolina  

210.331,854 

307,178,882 

Tennessee  

351,762,769 

560,997,621 

Virginia  

423,842,680 

1,018,726,683 

Total  

$3,258,044,451 

.$5,905,269,974 

(2)  Agriculture  in  Southern  Raihcay  (Southern)  States. 


Percentage  of 

Crops. 

1905. 

1915. 

Increase. 

increase. 

Corn,  bushels 

400,467,000 

581,270,000 

180,803,000 

45.15 

Wheat,  bushels 

32,671,000 

53,564,000 

20,893,000 

63.95 

Oats,  bushels 

26,575.000  • 

73,499,000 

46,924,000 

176.56 

Rye,  bushels 

710,000 

2,257,000 

1,547,000 

217.89 

Barley,  bushels 

112,000 

672,000 

560,000 

.500.00 

Buckwheat,  bushels . . . . 

431,000 

695,000 

264,000 

61.25 

Irish  potatoes,  bushels.. 

14,567.000 

35,926,000 

21,359,000 

146.63 

Hay,  tons 

2,332,000 

5,618,000 

3.286,000 

140.98 

Tobacco,  pounds 

437,774,000 

811.695.000 

373,921,000 

85.41 

Cotton,  bales 

6.2.50.043 

6.164.480 

D85.563 

D1.37 

4 


of  corn  to  be  over  45  per  cent,  wheat  63  per  cent,  oats  176  per 
cent,  rye  217  per  cent,  barley  500  per  cent,  buckwheat  61 
per  cent,  Irish  potatoes  146  per  cent,  hay  140  per  cent, 
tobacco  85  per  cent,  and  a decrease  in  cotton  of  1.37  per  cent. 
This  decrease  in  the  production  of  cotton  in  the  Southern 
States  in  1915  as  compared  with  1905  is  due  to  the  de- 
pressing effect  on  the  cotton  market  of  the  war  in  Europe 
combined  with  very  unfavorable  weather  conditions  in  much 
of  our  territory.  In  1914,  when  conditions  were  more  nearly 
normal,  the  Southern  States  produced  8,691,395  bales,  an 
increase  of  2,441,352  bales,  or  39.06  per  cent,  over  1905. 

What  the  Agricultural  Department  of  the  United  States 
calls  the  ‘'hypothetical  value”  of  all  crops  was,  in  these 
States,  $888,700,000  in  1905  and  $1,391,160,000  in  1915, 
an  increase  of  $502,460,000,  or  56.54  per  cent. 

In  the  live-stock  industry  great  progress  has  been  made: 
The  estimated  value  of  live  stock  on  farms  in  the  Southern 
States  January  1,  1906,  was  $492,574,000;  on  January 
1,  1916,  $747,855,000,  an  increase  of  $255,281,000,  or  51.82 
per  cent.® 

MANUFACTURES. 

Figures  showing  the  manufactures  in  the  Southern 
States  since  1910  are  not  obtainable,  but  an  analysis  of 
the  last  accessible  statistics  shows  in  1899  the  value  of  manu- 


(3) 

Live  Stock  on  Farms  in  Southern  Railway  {Southern)  States. 

January  1,  January  1,  Percentage 


1906.  1916.  Increase,  of  increase. 

Horses,  number 1,880,000  1,987,000  107,000  5.69 

Mules,  number 1,426,000  1,849,000  423,000  29.66 

Milch  cows,  number....  2,325,000  3,034,000  709,000  30.49 

Other  cattle,  number...  4,657,000  4,689,000  32,000  . 69 

Swine,  number 9,282,000  13,457,000  4,175,000  44.99 

Sheep,  number 2,623,000  3,357,000  734,000  27.98 


5 


factured  products  to  be  $701,056,000;  in  1909,  $1,455,882,- 
000,  an  increase  of  $754,826,000,  or  107.66  per  cent.^ 

MINING. 

In  mineral  production  these  States  have  increased  in  the 
period  of  ten  years  $20,587,527,  or  42.85  per  cent. 

BANKING. 

No  less  advance  has  been  made  in  banking  than  in  other 
pursuits  in  the  States  under  consideration.  In  1905  there 
were  only  538  national  banks;  in  1915,  842,  an  increase  of 
304,  or  56.51  per  cent;  capital  of  national  banks  in  such 
States  in  1905,  $56,463,420;  in  1915,  $105,904,900,  an  in- 
crease of  $49,441,480,  or  87.56  per  cent;  surplus  of  such 
banks  in  1905,  $32,226,963 ; in  1915,  $76,289,704,  or  $44,- 
062,741  increase,  being  136.73  per  cent  increase;  deposits  in 
these  States  in  1905  were  $216,078,065;  in  1915,  $433,083,- 


(4) 

Manufactures  in  Southern  Railway  {Southern)  States. 


1899. 

1909. 

Increase. 

Percentage 
of  Increase. 

Value  of  products  in 
Southern  Railway 
States  

.$701,056,000 

$1,455,882,000 

$754,826,000 

107.66 

Value  of  products  in  all 
other  States  

$10,705,871,000 

$19,216,170,000 

$8,510,299,000 

8i! . 39 

Value  of  products  in 
cities  of  10,000  on 
Southern  Railway  . . . 

$218,290,000 

$410,422,000 

$192,132,000 

88.01 

Value  of  products  in 
cities  of  10,000  in 
same  States  not  on 
Sou.  Ry 

$50,359,000 

$94,118,000 

$43,759,000 

80. 8!) 

Wage-earners  in  South- 
ern Railway  States.  . 

481.585 

724,028 

242,443 

50.54 

Wages  in  Southern 
Railway  States  

$130,037,000 

$252,849,000 

$122,812,000 

94.44 

The  statistics  of  manufacturing  in  cities  of  10,000  and  over  are  of  little  value  for  the 
reason  that  in  many  cities — Richmond.  Spartanburg,  and  others — many  of  llie  manufac- 
turing plants  are  outside  of  the  corporate  limits. 


6 

478,  an  increase  of  $217,005,413,  or  100.43  per  cent.®  State 
banks  have  increased  from  1905  to  1915  from  1,762  to  2,798, 
an  increase  of  1,036,  or  58.80  per  cent;  their  surplus  and  un- 
divided profits  show  an  increase  of  $16,163,647,  or  50.43  per 
cent;  deposits  an  increase  of  $18,336,344.®  The  growth  in 
Loan  & Trust  companies  has  been  most  remarkable:  from 
1905  to  1915  their  number  increased  from  31  to  221,  an  in- 
crease of  612  per  cent;  capital  in  1905  of  such  banks,  $4,- 
841,100;  in  1915,  $35,699,290,  an  increase  of  $30,858,190, 
or  637.42  per  cent;  surplus  and  undivided  profits,  $1,564,833 
in  1905  and  $15,547,555,  an  increase  of  $13,982,722,  or 
893.56  per  cent,  in  1915;  deposits  in  1905  of  $5,590,629,  in 
1915  $97,387,129,  an  increase  of  $91,796,500,  or  1641.97 

(5) 

'National  Banks  in  liottihern  Railway  {Southern)  States. 


1905. 

1915. 

Increase. 

Pereentai;e 
of  1 ncrease. 

No.  in  Son.  I?y.  States.... 

5.38 

842 

304 

56.51 

No.  in  places  of  2, .500  and 
over  on  Southern  Rail- 

150 

207 

57 

37.33 

way  

Capital  in  Southern  Rail- 
way States  

$56,46.3,420 

$105,904,900 

$49,441,480 

87.56 

Capital  in  Southern  Rail- 
way citie.s  

28,496,000 

57,485,000 

28,989,000 

101.73 

Surplus  and  undivided 
profits  in  Southern  Rail- 
way States  

32,226,063 

76,280,704 

44,062,741 

136.73 

Surplus  and  undivided 
profits  in  Southern  Rail- 
way cities  

20,193,478 

46,117,358 

25,92.3,880 

128.38 

Deposits  in  Southern  Rail- 
way Stales  

216,078,065 

433,083,478 

217,005,413 

100.43 

Deposits  in  Southern  Rail- 
way cities  

151,468,073 

245,907,938 

94,499,805 

62.39 

(6) 

State  Banks  in  Southern  Raihcay  (Southern)  States. 


Number  

1.762 

2.798 

1.036 

58.80 

Capital  

$81,119,902 

.$6,.’563  375 

8.80 

Surplus  and  Undivided  profits. 

32,0."0  929 

48.214.576 

16.163.647 

50.43 

Deposits  

269,668,289 

288,004,633 

18.336.344 

6.80 

7 


per  cent.'  An  extraordinary  growth  in  savings  banks  is  also 
shown,® 

Summing  up  the  growth  in  banking  in  these  Southern 
States  for  the  period  from  1905  to  1915,  it  will  be  seen  thdt 
banking  institutions  have  increased  in  number  from  2,407 
to  4,063,  or  68.75  per  cent;  capital  from  $137,695,402  to 
$232,393,239,  or  68.92  per  cent;  surplus  and  undivided 
profits  from  $66,617,890  to  $147,889,641,  or  121.99  per  cent; 
deposits  from  $500,764,025  to  $887,764,357,  or  77.28  per 
cent.® 


(7) 

Loan  and  Trust  Companies  in  Southern  Railicaij  (Southern)  States. 

Percentage 

1905.  1915.  Increase,  of  increase. 

Number  31  221  190  612.90 

Capital  $4,841,100  $35,699,290  $30,858,190  637.42 

Surplus  and  undivided  profits  1,564,833  15,547,555  13.982,722  893.56 

Deposits  5.590.629  97,387,129  91.796.500  1,641.97 


(8) 


Stock  Savings  Banks  in  Southern  Railway  (Southern)  States. 


1905. 

1915. 

Percentage 
Increase,  of  increase. 

Number  

25 

175 

150  600.00 

Capital  

$493,400 

.$9,210,113 

$8,716,713  1,766.66 

Surplus  

277,827 

7,393,984 

7,116.157  2,561.36 

Deposits  

5,117.207 

67,.536,041 

62,418.834  1,219.76 

(9) 

All  Banks  and  Loan 

and  Trust  Companies  in  Southern  Railway  (Southern) 

States. 

1905. 

1915. 

Percentage 
Increase,  of  increase. 

Number  

2,407 

4,063 

1,656  68.75 

Capital  

$137,695,402 

$232,393,239 

$94,697,837  68.92 

Surplus  and  undivided  profits  66,617,890 

147,889,641 

81,271,751  121.99 

Deposits  

500,764,025 

887,764,357 

387,000,332  77.28 

8 


HIGHWAYS. 

Improved  roads  have  gained  in  this  decade  147.28  per  cent, 
that  is,  in  1905  there  were  22,896  miles  of  improved  roads, 
in  1915,  56,620  miles,  or  33,724  miles  increase. 

PUBLIC  EDUCATION. 

The  revenue  of  public  schools  has  increased  from  $16,- 
613,713  to  $41,596,041,  an  increase  of  $24,982,328,  or  150.31 
per  cent  in  this  period  for  these  Southern  States. 

These  few  striking  figures  derived  from  cool  official  records 
will  suffice  to  make  my  point,  which  (to  state  it  again)  is 
that  those  of  us  of  Southern  blood  who  for  the  past  twenty- 
five  years  have  been  at  work  in  the  South — who  have  resisted 
the  allure  of  emigration  to  the  North  and  West  which  has 
taken  away  from  the  South  so  many  of  her  best  and  ablest — 
that  we  who  have  devoted  our  energies  to  the  South  have  not 
wrought  in  vain.  By  a sustained  co-operative  effort  to  re- 
deem through  economic  progress  the  honorable  position 
which  the  South  had  in  the  nation  prior  to  the  war  between 
the  States,  we  have  accomplished  what  these  figures  show.  It 
is  fitting  then  that  we  should  read,  mark,  learn  and  inwardly 
digest  the  results  already  accomplished,  if  only  to  redouble 
our  efforts  for  the  achievements  which  we  may  expect  to  re- 
cord in  the  next  generation:  for  on  what  we  have  done  we 
may  predicate  our  hopes  and  our  ambitions  for  the  future. 
Before  passing  on  let  me  push  home  my  point  by  a com- 
parison. 

We  have  heard  much  recently  of  the  marvel  of  the  in- 
dustrial progress  of  Germany  during  the  past  forty 
years.  So  far  as  statistics  are  available  they  bear  out 
my  own  convinced  judgment  that  the  progress  of  the 
South  in  the  same  period  is  comparatively  quite  as 
marvelous.  I am  not  making  a comparison  of  the  produc- 
tion of  actual  wealth  but  of  relative  iirogress  to  that  end. 
Thus,  against  a German  increase  in  coal  production 
from  1872  to  1913  of  471  per  cent,  the  South  showed 
an  increase  of  6,434  per  cent,  and  against  a German 
increase  in  pig  iron  production  from  1872  to  1913 


9 


of  866  per  cent,  the  South  had  an  increase  from  1870  to 
1913  of  2,542  per  cent.  The  industry  in  which  Germany 
comes  into  sharpest  competition  with  the  South  is  cotton 
manufacturing.  Statistics  of  German  cotton  mill  produc- 
tion are  not  available,  but,  against  a German  increase  in  cot- 
ton consumption  from  1880  to  1913  of  226  per  cent,  the 
South  shows  an  increase  of  1,468  per  cent.  Comparative 
statistics  of  railway  mileage  and  service,  which  are  available 
from  1880  to  1913,  show  an  increase  in  mileage  of  244  per 
cent  in  the  South  against  an  increase  of  81  per  cent  in 
Germany,  an  increase  in  passenger  miles  of  1,269  per  cent 
in  the  South,  against  536  per  cent  in  Germany,  and  an  in- 
crease in  ton-miles  of  2,854  per  cent  in  the  South,  against 
372  per  cent  in  Germany. 


(10) 

Coal  Production. 

1872. 

1913. 

Increase. 

Per  cent. 

Germany,  tons  , . . 

33,840.968 

193,160,656 

159,319,688 

471 

Southern  Railway 

States,  tons  728,940 

47,573,749 

46,845,709 

6,434 

Pig  Iron  Production. 

1872. 

1913. 

Increase. 

Per  cent. 

Germany,  tons... 

2,030,474 

19,619,084 

17,588,610 

866 

1870. 

Southern  Railway  States,  tons  113,386 

2,995,998 

2,882,612 

2,542 

Cotton  Consxmption. 

1880. 

1913. 

Increase. 

Per  cent. 

Germany,  bales  . . 

551,000 

1,794,406 

1,243,406 

226 

Southern  States, 

bales 188,748 

2,960,518 

2,771,770 

1,468 

Railway  Mileage. 

1880. 

1913. 

Increase. 

Per  cent. 

Germany  

21,065 

38,154 

17,089 

81 

States  south  of 

Ohio 

and  Potomac  and  east 

of  Mississippi . . 

14,243 

49,040 

34,797 

244 

Passenger  Miles. 

Germany  

4,027,018,661  25,592,777,187  21,565,758,526 

536 

States  south  of 

Ohio 

and  Potomac  and  east 

of  Mississippi . . 

329,481,519  4,509,937,881 

4,179,456,362 

1,269 

Tan-miles. 


Germany  8,955,595,171  42,290,984,619  33,335,389,448  372 

States  south  of  Ohio 
and  Potomac  and  east 

of  Mississippi 1,645,676,142  48,620,645,380  46,974,969,238  2,854 


10 


This  contrast  is  the  more  impressive  when  we  remember 
that,  in  1870-71,  Germany  had  fought  a victorious  war  in 
which  she  had  wrested  from  France  two  provinces  and  a huge 
war  indemnity,  while  the  South,  having,  six  years  before, 
emerged  from  a war  which  left  her  prostrate,  with  property 
valued  at  billions  of  dollars  wiped  out  of  existence,  with  her 
labor  system  overturned,  her  railroads  destroyed  or  badly 
crippled,  and  without  credit,  was  in  1870  still  subject  to 
political  conditions  which  made  progress  almost  impossible. 

WHAT  SOUTHERN  RAILAVAY  HAS  DONE. 

I have  talked  of  the  South  as  a whole.  May  I be  permitted 
to  tell  you  now  the  record  of  one  factor  in  it?  What  contri- 
bution has  the  Southern  Railway  Company  made,  during 
this  period  of  ten  years,  to  the  economic  evolution  of  the 
South  ? 

The  revenues  of  the  Southern  Railway  for  ten  years  ended 
June  30,  1916,  aggregate  $620,485,074,  of  -which  sum  it  is 
conservatively  estimated  30  per  cent,  or  $186,485,074,  is  col- 
lected from  sources  other  than  the  South ; the  balance,  $434,- 
000,000,  or  70  per  cent,  is  derived  from  the  South.  What, 
then,  becomes  of  these  great  revenues  collected  in  the  South? 
Are  they — as  many  think — hurried  to  caverns  in  Wall 
street,  and  there  distributed  to  the  shareholders?  No.  The 
facts  are : $248,947,058  has  been  paid  to  its  employees  in  the 
South;  $100,706,422  for  material  purchased  in  the  South; 
$44,059,895  paid  for  sundry  expenses  to  residents  of  the 
South;  $22,906,954  for  taxes  in  the  South,  and  $49,041,892 
for  betterments,  roadway  and  structures  that  went  directly 
into  the  pockets  of  the  South,  making  a total  of  approxi- 
mately $465,662,221,  or  $31,662,221  paid  into  the  South 
more  than  the  revenue  derived  therefrom — a sum  nearly 
equal  to  two  years’  value  of  the  entire  cotton  crop  of  these 
same  States;  greater  than  the  entire  value  of  all  live  stock  in 
these  States  in  1906.  That  I may  impress  upon  you  the  sin- 
cerity of  the  management  of  this  road  of  their  desire  in  the 


11 


future,  as  it  has  in  the  past,  to  bear  its  share  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  South,  I will  further  analyze  the  revenues  of  this 
road  and  its  auxiliaries.  For  the  ten  years  ending  in  1906  the 
Southern  Railway  Company  paid  $11,171,830  in  taxes;  in  the 
ten  years  ending  in  1916  the  sum  of  $22,906,954.  With  its 
auxiliary  lines  it  paid  in  taxes  in  the  States  it  traverses : for 
schools,  $7,874,660.28;  for  good  roads  and  bridges,  $4,389,- 
506.96,  and  for  pensions  for  old  soldiers,  $1,096,344.03,  mak- 
ing a total  of  $13, 360, 511. 27. The  enormous  sum  of 
$248,947,058  paid  by  the  Southern  Railway  Company  in 
wages  went  to  the  army  of  59,000  employees,  and  thus,  on 
the  conventional  basis  of  five  to  a family,  directly  supported 
about  295,000  Southern  people,  more  than  the  combined 
population  of  Richmond  and  Atlanta.  Approximately  40 
cents  of  every  dollar  of  the  gross  revenues  of  the  Southern 
Railway  Company  goes  to  the  payment  of  wages  in  the  States 
traversed  by  this  company;  approximately  20  cents  of  such 
gross  revenue  for  materials  and  supplies  is  disbursed  to 
Southern  people;  all  of  the  miscellaneous  operating  expense, 
approximating  7 cents  of  the  dollar  of  gross  revenues,  is 


(11) 

Total  Taxes  for  Schools,  Roads  and  Bridges,  and  Pensions,  paid  hy  Southern 
Railicay  and  Auxiliary  Lines — 10  Years. 


State. 

School. 

Road  and  bridge. 

Pension. 

Total. 

Virginia  

$6.55,347.1.3 

$419, 230.. 39 

$95,511.06 

$1 170.088.58 

North  Carolina 

1.3.50,058;  To 

8.35.366.71 

159.3.50.40 

2,344,775.86 

South  Carolina 

l,0-_'0.672.57 

206,163.07 

149.848.5.3 

1,.376.684.17 

Georgia  

650,200.83 

642.934.25 

167.390.27 

1, 460,-585. 35 

Florida  

1,550.08 

377.34 

2.34.19 

2.161.61 

Alabama  

1,2.34,288.58 

475,950.67 

314.6.39.58 

2,024.878.83 

Mississippi  

524,094.54 

254.840. .36 

55,866.20 

8.34,807.10 

Tennessee  

1,143  177.37 

957.820.06 

121,864.15 

2.222,861.58 

Kentucky  

657,889.91 

318,211.53 

31.6.39.65 

1,007,741.09 

Total  Sou. 

States  . 

$7,2.37..3.39.76 

$4, 110,900.. 38 

$1,096,344.03 

$12,444,584.17 

Other  States. . . 

637,320.52 

278,606.58 

915,927.10 

Grand  total 

$7,874,660.28 

$4,389,506.96 

$1,096,344.03 

$13,360..511.27 

12 


spent  in  the  South;  approximately  3.65  cents  is  paid  in  the 
South  for  taxes,  and  the  remainder,  approximately  20  cents, 
for  interest,  rentals  and  other  miscellaneous  expenses,  goes 
to  consume  the  gross  revenues.  To  state  it  differently:  out 
of  every  dollar  earned  by  the  Southern  Railway  Company — 
out  of  every  dollar  of  the  ten  years’  gross  earnings  of  $620,- 
485,074 — 70.57  cents  expended  by  the  Southern  Railway 
remains  in,  or  is  brought  into,  the  South. 

It  has  been  seen  that  the  deposits  of  all  banks  in  the  States 
under  consideration  were  in  1915  $887,764,357,  yet  the 


(12) 

Overating  Results  Reduced  to  Basis  of  $100.00,  and  Showing  the  Amounts  and 
Items  That  Make  Up  the  Amount  it  Costs  Southern  Railivay  to  Earn 
$100.00 

Five  months  ended  November  30th, 
1914.  1915. 

(Varies  different  periods  during  ten  years.) 

Income : 


From  operations  

$98.00 

$97.84 

From  interest,  dividends,  rents,  privileges,  etc . . . 

2.00 

2.16 

Gross  income 

$100.00 

$100.00 

Disposition  of  Income : 

For  operating  expenses 

,$73.79 

$65.45 

For  taxes  

3.90 

4.04 

For  uncollectible  revenue 

For  rent  of  roads  leased,  trackage  rights,  equip- 

.03 

.04 

ment,  privileges,  etc 

For  interest  on  bonds,  notes,  equipment  obliga- 

5 . 13 

4.84 

tions,  etc 

16.61 

16.19 

For  discount  on  securities  sold,  charged  to  income 

For  additions  to  property  through  income 

For  miscellaneous 

.14 

.04 

Surplus  

.40 

9.40 

$100.00 

$100.00 

Approximately  $70.57  of  each  $100.00  of  this  remains  in  the  South. 


13 


Southern  Railway  deposited  in  the  ten  years  ending  June 
1,  1916,  $809,653,804,  in  banks  in  these  Southern  States. 
The  deposits  of  the  Southern  Railway  in  Southern  banks  for 
a period  of  ten  years  equal  approximately  the  entire  deposits 
in  all  banks,  national.  State,  and  private,  in  1915.  The  en- 
tire deposits  of  the  Southern  Railway  Company  in  the  ten- 
year  period  have  increased  74  per  cent  and  were  $970,178,106, 
of  which  sum,  as  said,  $809,653,804,  or  83.45  per  cent,  was 
deposited  in  Southern  banks. 

PROGRESS  ALONG  SOUTHERN  mVlLWAY. 

I have  heard  the  expression,  “a  blind  man  could  tell  a 
Southern  Railway  town  from  others  in  the  South  by 
the  hum  of  commercial  industry.”  Is  this  saying  a prod- 
uct of  imagination?  There  are  103  cities  and  towns 
of  2,500  inhabitants  and  over  on  the  Southern  Rail- 
way lines.  In  1900  the  population  of  such  cities  and 
towns  was  1,410,394;  in  1910,  2,011,868,  an  increase 
of  42.65  per  cent,  yet  all  other  cities  and  towns  in 
the  South  of  2,500  inhabitants  and  over,  only  increased  in  the 
same  period  31.55  per  cent,  and  the  entire  South  only  14.14 
per  cent,  and  in  such  cities  in  the  United  States  34.84  per 
cent.’^®  Again:  the  value  of  all  manufactured  products  in  cities 
of  10,000  inhabitants  and  over,  in  cities  not  on  the  Southern 
Railway,  increased  from  1899  to  1909  (the  last  census  of 
manufactures) , 86.89  per  cent;  in  such  cities  on  the  Southern 
Railway  88.01  per  cent;  w’ages  paid  to  employees  in  manu- 

(13) 

Population  in  Southern  Railway  {Southern)  States. 

Percentage 


1900. 

1910. 

Increase. 

of  Increase. 

Southern  Railway  States 

15,380,940 

17,554,940 

2.174,000 

14.13 

Places  of  2,500  and  over  (103) 
In  1910  on  Southern  Ry 

1,410,394 

2,011,868 

601,474 

42.65 

Places  of  2,500  and  over  in  1910 
In  same  States  not  on  South- 
ern Railway 

1,018,581 

1,339,926 

321,345 

31.55 

All  places  in  United  States  of 
2,500  and  over  in  1910 

31,609,645 

42,623,383 

11,013,738 

34.84 

14 


facturing  industries  in  the  South  increased  in  the  ten  years 
50.34  per  cent;  in  Southern  Railway  cities  and  towns  94.44 
per  cent.  Of  the  $504,540,000  products  of  manufacturing 
within  the  corporate  limits  of  cities  of  10,000  and  over  in 
the  Southern  States,  81.38  per  cent  were  produced  in 
cities  served  by  the  Southern  Railway.*  Figures  that  would 
include  suburban  industries  would  be  still  more  favorable  to 
the  Southern  Railway.  Pursuing  the  subject  further:  More 
than  seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  cotton  spindles  in  the  South- 
ern States  are  in  mills  on  the  lines  of  the  Southern  Rail- 
way Company  and  its  associated  companies;  more  than  fifty 
per  cent  of  the  furniture  industry  in  the  Southern  States 
in  1909  ($7,885,000)  was  in  North  Carolina,  substantially 
all  of  it  being  on  Southern  Railway  lines.  The  capital  of 
national  banks  increased  in  the  Southern  States  from  1905 
to  1915  87.56  per  cent;  in  cities  on  the  Southern  Railway, 
101.73  per  cent. 

LOOKING  TO  THE  FUTURE. 

The  South  and  the  Southern  Railwaj^  as  part  of  it  enter 
the  period  of  1916  to  1926  with  optimism,  with  hope.  Evi- 
dences of  the  radiant  industrial  and  economic  future  of  the 
South  ai’e  abundant  and  everywhere  at  hand.  The  cementing 
of  closer  relationship  with  the  South  American  countries ; the 
reconstruction  to  follow  the  great  European  struggle;  the 
spirit  of  enterprise  which  is  now  quickening  the  industrial 
South  as  never  before;  the  final  settlement  in  the  past  of 
many  perplexing  problems,  political,  social  and  economic ; the 
rapid  disappearance  of  the  political  agitator  and  demagogue 
who  chose  abuse  of  corporations  as  a platform  to  enter  office ; 
the  elimination  of  railroads  from  politics,  except  as  any  large 
interest  in  the  country  may  be  a legitimate  object  for  govern- 
mental consideration — this  is  the  horoscope  which  the  next 
decade  presents,  and  thus  encouraged  the  Southern  Railway 
shall  meet  its  expanding  duties  and  gTowing  obligations  to 
the  South.  To  the  accomplishment  of  this  end  I invite 


15 


your  co-operation;  I solicit  the  co-operation  of  the  colleges, 
the  schools,  the  teachers,  the  ministers,  the  doctors,  the  bar 
associations,  the  farmers,  the  commercial  bodies  and  the  wage- 
earners — I solicit  all  true  citizenship — in  the  creation  of  a 
sentiment  of  liberality,  justice  and  fairness  to  a citizen  that 
has  done  for  the  South  what  this  company  has  done;  a senti- 
ment which  leads  to  the  irresistible  conclusion  that  the  pros- 
perity of  the  South  and  that  of  the  Southern  Eailway  are  ir- 
revocably linked  together.  The  needs  of  the  South  are  identi- 
cal with  the  needs  of  this  company ; the  growth  and  success  of 
the  one  means  the  upbuilding  of  the  other.  The  Southern 
Railway  asks  no  favors,  no  special  privilege  not  accorded  to 
others.  The  ambition  of  the  Southern  Eailwaj^  Company  is 
to  see  that  unity  of  interest  that  is  born  of  co-operation  be- 
tween the  public  and  the  railroads ; to  see  perfected  that  fair 
and  frank  policy  in  the  management  of  railroads  which  in- 
vites the  confidence  of  governmental  agencies ; to  realize  that 
liberality  of  treatment  which  will  enable  it  to  obtain  the  ad- 
ditional capital  needed  for  the  acquisition  of  better  and  en- 
larged facilities  incident  to  the  demand  for  increased  and 
better  ser^fice;  and,  finally,  to  take  its  niche  in  the  body 
politic  of  the  SoiTth  alongside  of  other  great  industries,  \\dth 
no  more,  but  with  equal,  liberties,  equal  rights  and  equal 
opportunities. 

You  have  heard  my  statement  of  the  ambitions  of 
the  Southern  Railway.  I trust  you  will  permit  me  to  take 
this  occasion  finally  to  reaffinn  a word  of  a personal  nature: 
I believe  in  the  South  and  our  Southern  people  with  all  my 
heart  and  soul.  I have  given  most  of  the  years  of  my  man- 
hood to  an  earnest,  though  a subordinate,  part  in  an  effort 
to  realize  a high  purpose  of  promoting  the  regeneration, 
through  industry,  of  the  prosperity  of  this  our  beloved 
motherland.  I have  not  known  in  my  own  experience  the 
horrors  either  of  the  military  conflict  which  left  our  people 
prostrate,  or  of  the  drear  yeai-s  of  political  disability  and 
atrophied  ambition  which  followed  that  great  war  lietween 


16 


the  States,  in  one  of  the  chief  theaters  of  which  we  are  to- 
day; hut  I know  the  bitterness  of  these  things  in  the  tra- 
dition of  my  immediate  family,  and  I have  learned  from  my 
parents  that  there  can  be  no  higher  aspiration  than  to  be  a 
part  in  the  realization  of  the  ideals  of  our  Southern  people. 
Facing  the  future,  I have  then  dedicated  my  life  to  that 
duty  and  to  identification  with  the  Southern  people,  and  in 
my  present  official  opportunity  I believe  that  I can  be  of 
service  to  them.  Many  others  have  done  and  are  doing 
this  and  I am  proud  to  he  of  the  company. 

(31485) 


